BY:DONALD SEVILLA

HOW IT FEELS TO BE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD

Bohol has been brought to the map of travel destination awareness because of our white sandy beaches , beautiful natural attractions and rich cultural heritage in our century-old stone churches.

Though these have given us fame and world renown, as a go to destination, tourism has its pitfalls and is a double-edged sword for us locals.

How many a time did we feel like second class citizens in our own backyard? While tourist resorts take pride in being exclusive, this mindset is both derogatory and discriminatory to the local populace.

Without a clear community -oriented legislation in

 place, tourist establishments often forget the important role locals play in the long term survival of their businesses.

While we understand the need for industry players to protect their interests , there must be a balance between how far they will go to do it and co-exist in harmony with  the local population.

Most resorts impose a ” day use” fee to justify their admission charges to discourage freeloaders  to enter their premises and to get away with public criticism for charging entrance fees to access the beach which nobody owns.

This weekend was a terrible and embarrassing experience I ever have had, in my entire life.

My wife and I living now in an empty nest often spend time in Panglao eating out at various dining spots that suit our taste buds.We know which places are great and which tourist traps to avoid. 

Lately we have been spending weekends at BBC eating at their al fresco restaurant which we love for being pet-friendly and the quiet ambience that suits me fine ever since the resort was founded then.

But when my grandson from the US came to visit us with his friends, I showed them around the island making sure he’d be proud of his roots. Yet my enthusiasm was met with frustration and anger, coming back to our once favorite place.

Being young adults true to form with an adventurous spirit, the kids when seeing the crystal blue waters by the beach found it irresistible.

Though our initial plan was just to have a  hearty lunch at the restaurant, bonding over a few bottles of beer  and perhaps stay for dinner, the boys standing by the beach were met with disdain when they were approached by security personnel asking them if they were hotel guests out to go swimming.

Seeing this while seated at the restaurant awaiting  our  initial order for beers, I stood up and came to their rescue.

Talking to the staff I explained we were gonna eat and drink and maybe have  dinner and that I was a regular. 

The security staff trying to be helpful suggested perhaps they would be better off bathing somewhere far from the restaurant so other guests won’t see and complain.

My initial reaction was what? If there were charges for the kids to use the beach that won’t be a problem.

After that we were left alone for a while until when I was about to make our order for lunch.

But much to my dismay,  the same security staff after talking to somebody  on the radio, approached me again saying that  to avoid paying double charges we might as well  pay at the front desk for the 3 boys separately as they would have their own set meal  as part of the day use package.

To begin with we never had plans to use any of the resort’s facilities such as swimming pool or towels or whatever. I  just came to eat and to show the place to my guests, bragging to them what a beautifil place this particular piece of the island was. 

But sensing a feeling of being discriminated against really felt bad. It was as if they wanted to ensure I would pay the day use rate and not leave anything to chance.

This left me thinking was it the color of my money or my  skin? Feeling insulted  I  decided to forego our lunch, paid for our initial order  of beers, asked the kids to leave  and went straight to the resort’s front desk to pay their charges and left to eat at our other favorite place.

When the girl at the front desk accepted the payment for the ” day use”, I asked for an official receipt and handed her back the coupon for the meals and other inclusions. 

To her surprise I hurriedly left,  saying we won’t be needing it and we’re having lunch somewhere else.

I don’t blame the staff. They are merely following management’s orders. But shouldn’t there  be more common sense and quick thinking by employees in the frontlines dealing with customers?

Was it my wounded pride or my way of saying good riddance to an unappreciated business? 

This resort seemed so eager to only collect the day use charge for the three boys at Php 1,200  each than  gamble at the prospect of us spending more  for food and drinks for a party of five instead.

True enough we spent more than their day use charges at the other place where we were treated far better.

Unfortunately many establishments would rather cater to tourists who come only once to project exclusivity than value regular local patrons.

God forbid should another pandemic like covid happen,  these businesses shouldn’t come crying to us locals to help tide them over.

But does it make good business sense  to prefer one time tourist money than antagonize regular local patrons?

Maybe they  don’t need my business or are just being plain snooty. But tourism is a volatile industry and dark clouds loom over the horizon.

At present, tourist arrivals are dropping and with the prospect of escalation in the Iran-Israeli conflict, things are not looking good .

Yet sometimes it does not help to be low key and keep a low profile as though invisible. 

Was I misjudged ?  In shorts and a less fancy shirt, did I look the part of one who could not afford to pay for being there? But should I care?  Even so, I’ve realized why should I?

 Never again!